North Dakota RN to MSN Bridge Programs

What's your favorite part of your nursing career? Do you enjoy working with patients, collaborating with other health care professionals, or finding efficient ways to integrate evidence-based care into your career? No matter what you enjoy about nursing, an MSN may help you get more out of your time as a nurse. RN-to-MSN programs in North Dakota are designed for working RNs with Associate's degrees. By pursuing this degree, you can explore options in advanced care, research, administration, and education.

To become a Master's-level nurse, you have to get an education in many different aspects of this field. While your education up to this point has focused on practical nursing skills and the abilities you need to work directly with patients. At the graduate degree level, however, you need to be able to think more deeply about larger issues in health care and how nurses fit into these issues. Your curriculum may delve into health care policy, the professional roles of nurses at different educational stages, ethical issues in patient care, and effective collaboration between health care providers.

The specific curriculum you follow is dependent on your choice of nursing specialty. However, it's likely that you will begin with courses like Theories and Concepts in Advanced Nursing, Advanced Pharmacology, Advanced Pathophysiology, and Advanced Health Assessment. Courses you may take in different specialties include Biomedical Statistics, Evidence for Nursing Practice, and Foundations of Advanced Nursing Practice.

Earning an MSN degree through an RN-to-MSN program generally takes about three years of full-time work. Since some of your courses are meant to satisfy general education requirements or nursing theory requirements, you may be able to complete some of your coursework online. Clinical work is a major part of your education. Many schools in North Dakota require well over 600 hours of clinical work before you're eligible for graduation.

The North Dakota Board of Nursing is the organization responsible for licensing and overseeing advanced nursing personnel. If you are pursuing a nurse practitioner, nurse anesthetist, nurse midwife, or clinical nurse specialist degree, you will need to register as an Advanced Practice Registered Nurse. These requirements go above and beyond standard RN licensing; you must take licensing exams in your chosen specialty and maintain your license through continuing education hours and ongoing practice.

The job outlook in North Dakota is generally very promising, although obviously there is more demand for certain professions. O*Net anticipates a 22 percent increase in nurse anesthetist jobs between 2012 and 2022, which is very similar to the 23% increase they expect for nurse managers. Job openings for nurse practitioners are expected to increase by 31 percent in this time period (O*Net, 2012). The greatest demand is for nurse instructors, who may see a 35 percent increase in demand through 2022 (O*Net, 2012).

North Dakota nursing salaries are often on par with national averages. In 2013, nursing instructors claimed an average salary of $60,100 per year (O*Net, 2013). On the other end of the pay scale, nurse anesthetists brought in an average of $170,100 per year (O*Net, 2013).

Earning an MSN may be enriching in a number of ways. On top of having a greater impact on your patients' health, you can explore more career options with this degree. You may also start playing a bigger role in your local nursing field, helping you reach out to other health care professionals. To learn more about how you can further your education in Delaware, simply request information from the schools on our site.

About Us

RNtoMSN was created by a group of talented individuals, including a Registered Nurse, who believe in the power of education to change lives. Our dedicated staff continually updates the nursing information and educational listings in an effort to provide you with direct access to Master’s in Nursing degree programs.